Several years ago when 4S stores are dominating car selling, Pang Qinghua, Chairman of Pang Da Automobile Trade, predicted that Gome and Suning may also sell cars some day. His prediction has come true. Moreover, Alibaba and JD.com also joined the club.

Suning Holdings opened its first brick-and-mortar car supermarket on July 15 in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province. It mainly offers services such as car sales, car maintenance, car financing, car leasing, and second-hand car sales. Gome plans to rearrange its stores, leaving the first floor of the most of its 1700 stores for car exhibition. Alibaba stepped into this field as early as in 2015.

For sure, new comers have brought about challenges to traditional 4S dealership, especially to its second-hand car businesses. E-commerce platforms such as Xin.com and Renrenche have helped standardize the second-hand car market by offering unified services and making charges more transparent. Last year, the sale volume of second-hand car hit 10 million for the first time.

New car sales is the profit point for traditional 4S stores. Facing challenges posed by e-commerce platforms and other marketing channels, traditional dealers started fighting back. The most direct measure is to submit joint letters to oppose prices set by those platforms, claiming it as violation of fair competition. Some car dealers tried to be more competitive by establishing their own e-commerce platforms. Autostreets.com, founded by several car dealers and COX group, is one case in point.

Some automobile industry insiders believe that the position of traditional 4S stores will remain unshakable, at least in the short term. However, automotive e-commerce presents the biggest opportunity in China, which may create a new player that can compete with Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn